About Pesticide degradation..

1. CSIR - Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur (H.P.)
India
(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)
Post Box No. – 06
Palampur-176061 (H.P.) India
Website: http://www.ihbt.res.in
E-mail: director@ihbt.res.in
Ph: +91-1894-230411
Fax: +91-1894-230433 1
Chlorpyrifos degradation: Current
trends, challenges and opportunities
for microbiologist
Presented by: Subhash Kumar
PhD: 1st
Year

2. CSIR - IHBT
2
Overview
Introduction
 Types of Pesticides
Chemical pesticides
Currents Trends of Organopesticides
 Chlorpyrifos
Major health effects of
Organophosphate pesticides
Methods of degradation of
Chlorpyrifos
Bioremediation
Needs, opportunities and alternatives
Challenges

3. CSIR - IHBT
3
Substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating
any insects, rodents, nematodes, fungi, or weeds, or any other forms.
--Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (US EPA, 1947).
What are Pesticides?
Grouped by Types of Pests They
Kill

4. CSIR - IHBT
4
Chemical pesticides
Organochlorine
DDT, chlordane, toxaphene
NCl
Cl Cl
O
P
O
O
S
C2H5
CH3
Chlorpyrifos
Organophosphate :
chlorpyrifos, parathion,
malathion, methyl parathion
etc
DDT
Pyrethroid :
Allethrin, Bifenthrin,
Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin,
Cyphenothrin Allethrin
Sulfonylurea
herbicides:
amidosulfuron,
azimsulfuron,
bensulfuron-methyl, etc
Amidosulfuron
Source: Sigma Aldrich

5. CSIR - IHBT
5
Currents Trends of
Organophosphate pesticide
In India
55,540 tons in 2010-11
57,353 tons in 2014-15
Over this time period, the imports of pesticides also
increased from 53,996 tons to 77,376 tons.
Deshpande T. March 2017 State of Agriculture in India
36% of world wide Organophosphate is used
Sukirtha, T. and M. Usharani (2013). Journal of
Bioremediation & Biodegradation.

6. CSIR - IHBT
6
•Used to kill a number of pests including insects and
worms.
•It was introduced in 1965 by Dow Chemical Company.
•It is used on crops, animals, and buildings.
• Main mechanism of its toxicity is antiacetylcholinesterase
activity. (Fukuto, T. R.1990. Environmental health perspectives )
•Toxicity results in more than 10,000 human deaths a year.
(Rathod A.L., Garg R.K. 2017. Journal of Forensic and Legal
Medicine)
Chlorpyrifos NCl
Cl Cl
O
P
O
O
S
C2H5
CH3

7. CSIR - IHBT
7
•Antiacetylcholinesterase enzyme activity.
•Photosynthetic inhibition - (hills reaction ).
•Biosynthetic inhibition – (metabolism of carotene and fatty acid in the
animal or plant body).
•Multiple inhibition- phosphorylation , protein , lipid inhibition .
•Respiratory inhibition – (mitochondrial ATPase inhibition ).
•Cancers.
Major health effects of organophosphate
pesticides
• EDC’s- (endocrine disrupting chemicals).
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/index.cfm

8. CSIR - IHBT
8
Effect of organophosphate pesticide on
acetyl- cholinesterase mechanism:
Rafael et al. (2012) Pesticides, Advances in Chemical and Botanical Pesticides

9. CSIR - IHBT
9
Methods of degradation of
chlorpyrifos
1. Photolysis
2. Chemical methods
3. Bioremediation

10. CSIR - IHBT
BioremediationBioremediation
Biodegradation Biotransformation Biosorption Biosorption
+
Biodegradatio
n
Combination of anyCombination of any
Mechanism: Enzymatic activityMechanism: Enzymatic activity
Mechanism:
Chemisorption
Physisorption
Mechanism:
Chemisorption
Physisorption
•Bacterial
•Algal
•Fungal BiomassBacteria
Fungi

11. CSIR - IHBT
Needs
Efficient bioremediation (Biosorption followed by
biodegradation from Chlorpyrifos polluted soil and water).
Complete degradation of Chlorpyrifos
Opportunities:
Screening of efficient microorganism
GMO’s
Alternatives
Biopesticide (bialaphos,
spinosyns,blasticidin, abamectins,
validamycin)
Neem Insecticide - Ozoneem Trishul

12. CSIR - IHBT
Challenges
 To isolate and screen highly potential microbes having
enzymatic system to completely degrade the toxic pesticides
from contaminated environment.
 Genetically modified microorganism with multiple enzymes
system to degrade no. of pesticides simultaneously.
 Biopesticides are still only 3% of the global annual market for
pesticides. Seiber J.N. et al., (2014). Journal of agriculture and food
chemistry.
12
biopest oppertunities.pdf

13. CSIR - IHBT
Conclusions
• Organophosphate pesticides are highly toxic and need to be
completely removed from the environment.
• Replacement of toxic Organophosphate pesticides by non
toxic biopesticides.
13

14. CSIR - IHBT

15. CSIR - Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur (H.P.)
India
(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)
Post Box No. – 06
Palampur-176061 (H.P.) India
Website: http://www.ihbt.res.in
E-mail: director@ihbt.res.in
Ph: +91-1894-230411
Fax: +91-1894-230433
Thank You .....!
15